Key posts
Weakest Ashes side since 2010/2011? Australia has last laugh
By Daniel Brettig
We’ll leave the last word on this Ashes triumph to The Age’s chief cricket writer Dan Brettig:
This team was supposed to be Australia’s weakest Ashes side since 2010-11. This team has repeatedly been referred to as “not the strongest Australian side”, “not vintage” or “not as good as earlier teams”. This team has at times been called too old, too outspoken, too injury-affected and even, bizarrely, too woke.
What a load of bulldust. This team is bloody good.
Read Dan’s post match analysis here.
Scott Boland takes the final wicket of the Adelaide test.Credit: Getty Images
Latest posts
Lyon to miss Melbourne
By Tom Decent and Peter Ryan
Australia could select a very different attack for the Boxing Day Test after their skipper Pat Cummins indicated he was unlikely to play, and Nathan Lyon would miss with a hamstring injury.
Michael Neser was the unlucky player forced out in Adelaide to make way for Cummins return and he could easily replace him while the battle for Lyon’s spinning spot will be fierce.
Cummins said the state of the series influenced his decision to play, but now it was decided he would have a conversation about whether playing in Melbourne was worth the risk.
He said the prognosis for Lyon was not great after he was sent for scans soon after hurting his hamstring on the final day.
“It doesn’t look great. Don’t know yet [how bad] but someone on crutches doesn’t really bode well for a Test a week away. Gaz [Lyon] is pretty close to irreplaceable,” Cummins said. “It’s going to be hard to replace but we’ve already got some guys who’ve already had a taste of international cricket around the traps. Other guys have done well in domestic cricket.”
What now for Stokes and McCullum?
By Peter Ryan
Ben Stokes has battled hard for his team but he and his coach Brendon McCullum shoulder responsibility for this Ashes debacle. The tourists have not shown the humility and nous required to tailor their game to Australian conditions.
They were better in Adelaide and displayed more resistance but again were let down by stupid decisions with the bat. Ben Duckett played a poor shot in the second innings. Harry Brook’s mode of dismissal was embarrassing. Jamie Smith batted well before making a rash decision.
Both Brook and Smith are precocious talents but until they develop a willingness to keep their foot on the opponent’s throats they will continue to fail in big Ashes moments.
McCullum’s emphasis on attacking cricket was always dubious but in Australian conditions when the ball bounces it was too risky without experienced players who were able to temper their style if the game demanded. Whether he loses his job will be a subject of discussion for the rest of this series.
By contrast Australia’s bowling has been relentless and Travis Head and Alex Carey the difference in the batting contest.
McCullum admitted on BBC Sport post game that results told him their preparation wasn’t right. He said they probably lacked match practice leading into the series but were replicating a program that had worked for them before. However, he said he also wondered whether they should have trained as hard as they did leading into the second test with the hot conditions having them below their best for that game at the Gabba.
Why not poke some fun at Stuart Broad?
By Peter Ryan
‘Bazball’ is dead
By Tom Decent
Cricket writer Tom Decent reports that Australia’s Ashes victory will consign ‘Bazball’ to history.
England’s Bazballers saved their best performance for the 11th day of a one-sided series, but ultimately fell short by 83 runs in pursuit of a world record run chase of 435.
Read his first take here after the Aussies knocked over England for 352.
Lyon out of Melbourne, Cummins in doubt
By Greg Dundas and Tom Decent
Australian captain Pat Cummins says its unlikely Nathan Lyon will play again in the Test series and has virtually ruled himself out of playing in the Boxing Day Test.
Tom Decent reported from the post-match press conference that Cummins said he is unlikely to play in Melbourne, not necessarily through injury forcing him out but it might be prudent management after coming back from his back injury.
Asked on SEN radio shortly after the post-match presentations about the hamstring injury that forced Lyon from the field, Cummins said it was too early to say for sure how long the off-spinner would be sidelined.
“Dunno yet. He’s on crutches, so [that’s] probably not the greatest sign,” Cummins said.
“I doubt he’d be right for the next two [Tests], but I haven’t heard any more than that.”
Cummins, who missed the first two Tests as he recovered from a back injury, said he felt fit and strong after the five-day battle in Adelaide.
“I feel really good still, it just feels like a played a normal Test match, with all the bruises and bumps of a normal Test match where you bowl 30-odd overs,” he said.
The Australians celebrate their series win.Credit: Getty Images
SEN’s Adam Collins asked him whether he would play the remaining two Tests – Melbourne starting on Friday, and the Sydney Test starting in a fortnight’s time.
“We’ll sit down and probably have a chat about that in the next day or two. We always thought three [Tests] on the bounce was going to be tough, but we were pretty open-minded to anything when the series was alive. Now that we’ve won, we’ll sit back and work out what’s worth it.”
Have your say, folks
Stokes laments Ashes plight: ‘It hurts and it sucks’
By Scott Spits
England captain Ben Stokes says the tourists are “quite emotional” after their bold dreams of coming to Australia to snatch the Ashes were dashed before Christmas.
The tourists have a 0-3 series deficit after 11 days of Test play in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide and have only a five-day break before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
“Obviously, that dream that we came here with is now over – which is obviously incredibly disappointing,” Stokes told Seven in the aftermath of Australia’s 82-run win at the Adelaide Oval.
“Everyone is obviously hurting and quite emotional about it.
“[But] we’ve got two more games to go and that’s where the focus needs to switch to now. We obviously came here with a goal in mind, and we’ve not been able to achieve that.
“It hurts, and it sucks, but we ain’t going to stop.”
Tough times: England captain Ben Stokes shakes hands with Pat Cummins.Credit: Getty Images
Pressed on the main difference between Australia and England, the veteran campaigner said the host nation’s superiority came down to consistency.
“I think just the constant execution,” said Stokes.
“Australia have been able to executive things on a much more consistent basis than us, both with the ball, with the bat and in the field.
“This game of cricket it is based on how you bat and how you bowl, and how you field. And they’ve been able to out-do us on a much higher level.
“We showed it in passages in these first three games and again, this week we did incredibly well to take it where we did to in this fourth innings [today].”
Every player rated in third Ashes Test
By Andrew Wu and Dan Walsh
Which English player needs the brains to match his talent?
’Our cricket experts Andrew Wu and Dan Walsh have rated the performances of each player in this pivotal Adelaide test. And they don’t miss England’s top order here:
Cummins may miss MCG Test
By Peter Ryan
Australia’s Ashes winning skipper Pat Cummins has stopped short of declaring himself a certain starter in the Boxing Day test after his triumphant return from a back injury to help Australia clinch the series.
“We will see how I pull up in the next day or two and make a decision then,” Cummins told Foxtel.
A rapt Cummins said the team’s experience was vital as it allowed them to handle any setbacks that occurred with injury or during a game. “It’s the thing I am most proud about,” Cummins said.
Meanwhile England skipper Ben Stokes admitted his team is emotional after losing the series 0-3 to allow Australia to retain the Ashes after just 11 days of cricket.
“That dream is now over, which is incredibly disappointing. Everyone is hurting and quite emotional about it. It hurt, it sucks, but we ain’t going to stop,” Stokes said.
The defiant skipper said they had plenty to play for in the final two tests as question marks will sit above the team’s leadership following their failure to deliver in Australia.
“We have not been consistent or relentless enough,” Stokes said.
Most Viewed in Sport
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
